Reviews by takato14

takato14

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Build quality, appearance, comfort
Cons: Overpriced to hell.
Sony DR-Z7Sennheiser HD800
Pioneer Monitor 10
Beyerdynamic DT1350
AKG K240 Sextett
NAD RP18 mylar (T50v1 OEM)
 
several others that aren't good enough to be worth mentioning

 

 
How this headphone is so popular and highly rated is beyond me. It's not the worst headphone I've used, but being called a 'bargain' at $800? What?
 
Before I get into the sound, let me say one thing: this headphone's enclosure is damn beautiful. It has some of the most robust build quality and looks I have ever seen. There is not a single part of this headphone that was cheaped out on; the headband adjustment is really nice and the entire thing is powder-coated metal. The pads are absolutely amazingly soft and supple, and they feel quite nice on the head. The cable is really soft and silky, and surprisingly flexible for a fabric-jacketed wire. There is nothing about the construction of this headphone that I do not absolutely adore, and I feel that you would be hard pressed to find a headphone with equivalent build quality in this day and age.
 
However, we must remember that this is a headphone, an instrument designed to reproduce music. In the end, the sound takes precedence over all other aspects in order of importance. And in my opinion, this is where Fostex completely drops the ball. To my ears this sounds like nothing more than a pseudo-basshead consumer headphone intended for people who have more money than they know what to do with, not people who actually genuinely care about sound quality. It's overly bassy and diffuse and simply did not satisfy me.
 
Don't get me wrong, I love bass, even in large quantities. That is not my issue with the TH600. My issue is that it isn't good bass.  It has a very noticeable hump centered around 80-100Hz (commonly referred to as the "midbass"), which makes it sound unnaturally emphasized at the top of the bass spectrum and weak at the bottom. Add to this high even-order distortion and it becomes extremely thick and overbearing. This equates to a very "bloomy" sound in the low registers, as it is adding impact/slam/emphasis to areas which normally would not carry it, thereby causing the mids to become lost and buried in the background. Overall it is certainly not the worst bass I've heard, and too much is not quite as bad as not having any at all, but I expected a lot better performance at a price point like this. I should not be able to say that the $300 DT1350 has better bass than the TH600, and yet, it does.
 
The mids themselves are pretty difficult to discern, but with EQ are revealed to be relatively uninsulting on their own; pretty smooth, a little uneven towards the bottom but relatively flat and grain-free. It's the bass and treble overpowering them that makes them sound sucked-out and hollow.
 
The treble is by far the worst part of this headphone, and was essentially the dealbreaker for me. The extension is fine, great in fact, but to be honest I'd rather have no treble than to have what this headphone offers. It is not aggressive or "hot", nor harsh in any way, but it is very uneven, dirty, and artificial sounding. There is a slight amount of etch to it that makes it sound sparkly and overbearing. It's very splashy and lacks proper control, causing cymbals to be rendered as a cold, tizzy mess of high frequency noise. Disgusting. 
 
The presentation of this headphone is peculiar. The pads are very large and seal against your head quite well, and the drivers are quite far away from your ears. They don't sound "closed" or "cupped" to me, but they definitely don't have a soundstage. It just sounds like a distant, diffuse wall of sound. There's no real separation or placement, and it's not tactile either (due to the transducer's inability to resolve micro-detail). And oddly, though I certainly would not call this headphone overly distorted, there is this sense of "compression" and a lack of cleanliness throughout it which causes it to sound confused and nebulous. 
 
Comfort is far above average and quite good, the weight distribution is just right and the entire thing feels very soft and cozy on the head. Unfortunately, the pads do not breathe well, and the heat becomes irritating after 2+ hours of listening. I had to give my ears a 10 minute breathing period and wipe the pads clean before putting them back on.
 
All-in-all, my worst purchase in this hobby yet. In my opinion, Fostex really needs to put more thought and effort into the sound of their headphones, instead of spending all their time on pretty black metal and wood cups. I certainly hope the TH900 doesn't have this many problems.
 

 
TL;DR:
 
  1. Very well built and comfortable
  2. Gorgeous
  3. Highly colored and unclean
  4. Overwhelmingly thick and emphasized bass
  5. Sucked-out midrange
  6. Tizzy and peaky treble; very cold and splashy sounding
  7. Overly diffuse with no real soundstage
  8. Poor diaphragm control
  9. Poor separation and microdetail
  10. Seriously I'd take my M50 over these and the M50 gives me a headache
  11. Fostex can go **** a cactus
 
Peace.
enthusiast
enthusiast
I have the Beyer 50p, the successor of the afformentioned DT1350 and the Fostex TH600. Yes the Beyers are lovely, yes the Bass on the TH600 is insane, but.... The TH600 once you have them one, you won't put them down until your ears blead. They are great headphones. You can get them cheap on ebay so who cares about MRSP. My single biggest complaint was too much (ever so slightly muddy-ish) bass, and comfort. Beyers ( I am talking around eary beyers dt990) are much much more comfortable. My ears did not fit into the Fostx and got hurt. I have big ears.
Redcarmoose
Redcarmoose
Redcarmoose Today at 6:09 pmDelete
I can almost assure you it is a type of synergy in reverse. Your findings parallel mine to a T. I thought we may have had the same experience and then you discribed the lower-mid distortions and I totally knew we were talking about the same issue.

The only way I can explain it is your headphone is actually showing you what is up-stream. The HD800 are fantastic be are not emphasizing that lower mid area.

You need to keep experimenting with different equipment and cable and you can bring the headphones to a different level. If you read up, you may realize your experience is an odd-ball one.
grizzlybeast
grizzlybeast
For what they sell for now they are a steal. The highs are wretched but it makes up for it in other ways.

takato14

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Great resolution, can power most headphones, compatible with any USB DAC, up to 256 GB of storage, solid construction
Cons: Slightly bulky, computer experience required, questionable appearance, USB DACs can be a little finicky, simplistic construction
What's this? Why is there a PocketPC in the product list of a headphone forum? 
 
Some of you might've heard of the Open Pandora, the mutant child of a PocketPC and a gaming handheld, designed by a small group of people for retro gaming. It also serves as a fully functional Linux-based computer and is completely open, allowing the end user to do anything and everything they want to do with the unit.
 
So why is this on Head-Fi? As it turns out, the person who designed the Pandora's motherboard is an audiophile, and he put in a powerful dedicated audio section. This review is dedicated to reviewing this unit's performance as a DAP. 
 
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[center] ////////////////////// //--Build Quality:--// //////////////////////[/center]
 
I figured I'd address this first as it is the only part of the handheld which I am not 100% satisfied with. 
 
As far as durability goes I have absolutely no worries about the handheld. The plastic is strong and rigid and the handheld feels rock solid, not rickety or weak anywhere, I can tell it will last me a long time.
 
However, there are some issues that I have with it cosmetically. The silver paint isn't well-coated. It chips very easily and blemishes in it are very obvious. The edges of the plastic are very, very noticable and gives it a look like it's about ready to fall apart. There are then the little things about it, like no labels on the switches and slots, no rubber stoppers in the screw holes, and other nit-picky things like that. My battery cover is a bit warped as well but as far as I'm aware other units aren't like this; mine probably happened during shipping or something, and it causes absolutely no problems.
 
Keep in mind this is all <entirely> cosmetic; the handheld has a good weight to it and the plastic is strong. The keys and buttons feel great and everything is solid and well-tuned. It feels and operates like a $500 handheld, it just doesn't look like one. Considering all of the issues that occurred during the production of this unit, I am very surprised and impressed that the handheld is what it is. That being said, if I could change one thing about the handheld, it'd be the case. It wouldn't look bad at all if it weren't for the silver paint. The old matte black case looks quite nice.
 ​
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[center] ///////////////// //--Usability--// /////////////////[/center]
 
This is a mixed bag. As far as actually using it s a portable player, I've had no troubles. The shoulder buttons skip tracks and there's a hold switch to prevent accidental input. The suspend switch will stop the music if you need to. The volume dial is recessed so it won't get moved by accident when it's in your pocket. That's more control than an iPod Touch has without having to unlock it. It's not uncomfortable to have in a jeans pocket, but you still feel it in your pocket and it's not exactly easy to reach the buttons. I personally recommend a jacket pocket or something. I keep mine in the little hidden pocket on the inside of my jacket where it's easy to access.
 
Now, this handheld runs Linux, and while it wasn't too difficult for me to get used to, there were some hiccups along the way to get it 100% functional. This is not a 3DS, it's not an  iPhone, and it's not a laptop. It is not fully functional out-of-the-box. You have to buy your own SD cards, install a web browser, install a media player, and everything else you want for it manually. I personally prefer this over having lots of things installed on first boot, 90% of which I never use, but I'm not most people. You <absolutely must> be at least somewhat capable of using a computer to use this device. A lot of things that are normally done for you in Android or even Windows have to be done manually in Linux. That being said, the SuperZaxxon that the Pandora runs is significantly smoother than any Android phone I've ever used, including those with more RAM and faster processors. Operating systems like Android, iOS and Windows are built around ease of use while sacrificing performance and some functionality. The Pandora's OS is the opposite, and therefore superior in my opinion, but it most certainly is not for everyone, and I don't blame you if you'd rather use Android on it. Getting Android working is as simple as copying a single file to an SD card and running it. Check the Pandora Boards for more detailed information.
 
One of the main reasons for buying the Pandora as a portable player is that it can use any USB-based DAC using the USB HOST port. While this statement is not untrue, it was not very easy to figure out. I won't go into the technical details here, but you basically need to plug it in through a USB hub and select it as the audio output device and mixer device within the music player's settings. Simple enough to get it working, except not all players support this as developers aren't expecting people to be using external soundcards with the Pandora, and thus leave that part out of the code. Some players don't even allow you to choose your output device, sometimes the device doesn't show up on the output list, sometimes it does but no sound (or static) will come out. I have a list at the bottom of the review of players that I have tested and confirmed to work as well as detailed instructions on how to get it working for each.
 ​
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[center] ///////////////////// //--Sound Quality--// /////////////////////[/center]
 
Alright, now for the big one, and most important.
 
Most consumer electronics such as an iPod Touch or a Nintendo 3DS use an all-in-one DAC/amp chip to handle audio. As mentioned before, the Pandora actually has a dedicated audio section on the motherboard that's completely seperate from the rest of the system. It implements the Burr-Brown PCM1773 DAC and the Texas Instruments TPA6110A opamp. It runs on its own isolated power supply and even has a proper line out via the EXT connector on the back of the unit if you want to use your own amp with it.
 
The amp is clean, powerful, and doesn't color the sound. It does exactly what it's supposed to. A plus about the Pandora is that the output stage of it is purely analog, none of that digital crap you see in many players nowadays. The output of the amp goes directly to the volume dial, then to the headphone jack. It's better for both audio quality and usability in my opinion; I've always prefered an analog volume control. The little volume dial has a smooth but tight movement which prevents it from being adjusted on accident. This is good, because most portable cans would harm you at max volume on this device. I have never noticed any sort of clipping even at max output into ridculously hard-to-drive headphones (Pioneer SE-500 and SE-700). 
 
--In comparison to iPhone 3G, my oldest player (CS42L61):
 
Wow, what was I listening to back then? The Pandora has so much more detail and texture, the sound of the iPhone is dark, muffled, and sloppy in comparison. There's also a tinge of THD around the whole sound spectrum, but it's especially bad in the upper register, possibly what made my M50s treble sound harsh many years ago. It's also very noisy and unrefined; lots of congestion with even moderately fast music. The Pandora has a lot more amping power and supports far more formats than the iPhone, and the battery life is unmatched. I've had times where I'd charge my iPhone before bed, and wake up in the morning with a dead battery. I can leave the Pandora on all night and wake up with half a battery left, which will last me the rest of the day with no recharging. Absolutely no contest.
 
--In comparison to FiiO E7 in DAC mode (WM8740 & TPA6130A):
 
Yuck, what's going on here FiiO? Even though the opamp chips of the two units are almost identical, the E7 has a terrible haze in the midrange and a dark, muffled sound signature. Extension in either direction is lacking, and there's a lot of noise throughout the spectrum. It's very congested and sloppy. While better than my laptop, the DAC portion of the E7 is barely decent, and it pales in comparison to any of the devices mentioned further on in this review. I suppose you get what you pay for, but at the same time the E7 is <only> a DAC, it can't play music on its own, and I'd expect at least a little bit better performance than what it provides. 
 
--In comparison to Sony Playstation Vita (Wolfson WM8781G):
 
The WM8781G is an all-in-one sound chip (DAC and amp). Both the Pandora and the Vita have a very clean sound, but the Pandora is much more detailed and actually has enough power to handle most headphones. I'm hard pressed to find a headphone that the Vita can drive to its full potential, as the amp section is exceptionally weak. The Pandora has much better low exension; the Vita seems slightly hollow and bright in comparison. The Pandora is also a good deal smaller than the Vita, and doesn't have two analog sticks jutting out of the face to get caught on things in a pocket. The Vita also only supports a handful of files; ALAC, FLAC, and AAC would not work. It only accepted WAV and MP3 out of the formats I tried. One thing I can say on the positive side is that the Vita's UI is better for portable use than say Audacious or DeaDBeeF, but since the Pandora has Rockbox as well this isn't very important.
 
--In comparison to the AudioQuest Dragonfly (ES9023):
 
At first I thought the Dragonfly was superior to the Pandora. I had only used lossless music with the Pandora, and didn't really hear how revealing it was, whereas the Dragonfly was immediately exposed to lower bitrate files was well as lossless. When I actually compared the two side-by-side, I was absolutely stunned by what I heard. The Dragonfly has more output power, but the perks stop there. The Pandora absolutely smokes the Dragonfly in every other area. The Pandora has greater resolution and clarity; the Dragonfly sounds smoothed over in comparison. Both are clean, controlled and expansive, but the Pandora has a lot more detail and texture. Using my Sony MDR-SA3000 with the Pandora is a truly unbelievable experience. The Dragonfly seems to have a tad more warmth to it than the Pandora, and slightly less content in the high section. The Dragonfly seems to be slightly more expansive, but also a tad distant at times. Considering the fact that the Dragonfly is so small, it's very good. However, function comes before form in my book, and I'd expect better performance at this price point.
 
 
Sennheiser HD600:
--Lush, natural, and expansive. Smooth yet incredibly detailed. The Pandora handles this headphone exceptionally well. It can drive them to nearly deafening levels of volume. Even more detail than the SA3000 (though not as much of a focus). I'm hearing completely new parts in my music. 
 
Grado RS2i:
--Extremely fast and revealing, very heavily colored. Harsh and headache-inducing out of sub-par equipment (such as my laptop), but very enjoyable out of the Pandora. Sound is full yet light, very engaging and aggressive. 
 
Sony MDR-SA3000:
--Fast and easily driven, dry and very detailed. Fairly neutral, primary test headphone used. Using these with the Pandora is an unreal experience, the sheer amount of detail is incredible. The Dragonfly makes them sound slightly smoothed over with slightly slower decay. 
 
Beyerdynamic DT1350:
--Good lord these headphones are ruthless. The Pandora reveals their true face, which is extremely analytical with instantaneous decay that reveals every nuance and imperfection in the music. The Dragonfly shows part of this character, but doesn't quite get them all the way there. On other players they sound euphonic and warm, likely due to bad DAC sections.
 
KOSS PRO/4AAA:
--An old beast from 1976, they are very difficult to drive at 250 ohms and 90 dB/mW SPL. The Pandora handles them very well, maintaining their extremely expansive sound and their immense presence. The Dragonfly can get them louder, but there's no need for that much volume, and it sounds slightly worse.
 
Monoprice 8320 (stock tips, no mods):
--On the Pandora, these are warm with a nice little soundstage and a wonderfully pleasant tonal balance. On other players, they're slightly cold and are a little bit rougher. The difference is night and day. One thing to note is there is a slight hiss on these when you're around sources of interference, such as a WiFi hotspot. Not too big of a concern, and inaudible with headphones.
 
Pioneer SE-700:
--Infinite impedance and very low sensitivity, used to test raw amping power. The Pandora does an O.K. job with this headphone, not very good, but not also not the worst I've heard them sound; it is however fairly quiet. The Dragonfly has enough power to get them to a more listenable volume, and they sound better, though it clips a bit at max volume. Considering these headphones were designed for speaker taps, this is impressive on the Dragonfly's part.
 
AKG K240 Studio:
--I don't really like these headphones, but they actually sound quite good out of the Pandora. Other players didn't seem quite able to handle these cans. They appear to be very DAC-dependant, much like the DT1350. 
 
Audio-Technica ATH-M50:
--For fun, I got out my M50s. I haven't used these in ages. While I can't say I particularly like the headphones anymore, I can say they sound considerably better out of the Pandora than they ever did out of my iPhone or my E7. 
 
 

 
Album: The Mechanical Rennaisance
Artist: Psyborg Corp.
Genre: Harsh EBM
Lots of impactful rhythms and aggressive, detailed synths. Lots of high-end content and very unique vocals with heavy distortion applied to them. 
 
Album: Nostril
Artist: Igorrr
Genre: idfk
A very unique combination of many, many different genres that's impossible to describe. Extremely aggressive and chaotic with lots of (purposeful) recording artifacts (static, hiss, clipping, pops, etc etc).
 
Album: Ethernaut
Artist: The Cruxshadows
Genre: Darkwave
Incredibly well-done recording job and beautiful, poetic lyricism. Lots of rock-bottom low end content and a tactile feeling to every instrument. Beautifully textured synth instruments and good vocals. 
 
Album: Come Read the Words Forbidden
Artist: Morton
Genre: Melodic Metal
A great album from a new band. Very solid recording job. Guitars sound rough and strong without distortion or noise, just the pure crunch and bite guitars are known for. 
 
Album: Rolling Thunder
Artist: Dan Gibson
Genre: Ambient
Beautiful ambient music set to the sound of binaurally recorded rain. Very soothing and expansive. 
 
Other music:
 
Rocket Knight Adventures OST (SEGA Genesis/Megadrive):
Played directly from the sound test screen using PicoDrive. WOW this game's soundtrack is amazing. The Genesis uses Frequency Modulation to make its music, which means extremely good things for emulation. The synths are rendered directly to the DAC of the Pandora. The sheer texture in all the synths is incredible and the Pandora renders it all very well. This is leagues better than the console was ever capable of sounding.
 
Gunstar Heroes OST (SEGA Genesis/MegaDrive)
Played in the same manner as the above. Ahh the sweet memories. Most of the soundtrack is average, but a few of the songs are exceptionally good, and they all sound flawless on the Pandora.
 
Dr. Wily Stage 1 (Megaman 2 (1986), Nintendo Entertainment System)
Gotta love that NES music. Dumped to PCM directly from an emulator on my computer and played back on the Pandora. The raw square and triangle waveforms offer a very good method to test the resolution of the handheld.
 
 


 

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[center] /////////////////// //--Final Notes--// ///////////////////[/center]
 
There are 3 different editions of the Pandora. The Classic, the Rebirth, and the 1GHz. There are no differences in the audio section of the units, only in the amount of RAM and the CPU. 
 
The best player that I've found so far has to be DeaDBeeF. It's strikingly similar to Foobar2000 for Windows. It can even import EQ presets from Foobar. It has extremely low CPU draw and supports a large number of different formats, and is the player I used to do most of the testing. 
 
Some players require custom button mapping to use the shoulder buttons for skipping tracks. DeaDBeeF is one of these. Rockbox, however, is configured this way by default. 
 
If you want to use a dedicated amp, you'll need to request a cable from one of the members of the community. Numerous members make and sell TV-Out cables on a daily basis, and a line out is even easier. If you are DIY-oriented, you can make your own using the EXT connectors availible on the DragonBox shop. EDIT: Pre-assembled TV-Out cables are now available from the DragonBox shop.
 
USB devices that get their power from the USB port will drain the Pandora's battery faster than usual. The Dragonfly is a major offender in this case because of the massive power draw from the opamp. Portable DACs that have their own dedicated power supply (such as the E7) will not drain the battery as much. Using the USB-OTG port for these devices is reccomended, as it will drain even less power, but it will not work for devices that need a certain amount of power from the port (the Dragonfly is one of these devices).
 
I am working with the OpenPandora team on being able to set a USB device as the primary sound device, which would enable seamless compatibility with any player or emulator. I'll report back here with any future progress.
 
Players that have been confirmed to support external DACs (Tested using AQ Dragonfly and FiiO E7):
 
--Audacious
(Set output plugin to OSS in settings, set bit depth to 16, click "Preferences", select "USB Audio" and "USB Mixer")
--Audacity
(Not really a player, but go to Edit -> Preferences, set the output host to ALSA, and select USB audio and it will output to the DAC.)
 
There are too many players to test them all, and it's likely that there are others that will work. I'll post any more I find here.
 
Known quirks/problems with external DACs:
--Selecting a bit depth above 16-bit causes static to be outputted, likely due to the Dragonfly using asynchronous USB, might be fixable
--If the device is disconnected during playback the USB stack crashes, requiring a reboot. Stop the music first and disable USB host from the taskbar.
--Volume control is limited to software as the Dragonfly doesn't have its own volume control, won't be a problem with an E17 or a DAC/amp stack
 
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[center] /////////////// //--Verdict--// ///////////////[/center]
 
Overall, I am very pleased with how the Pandora performs. It's a very engaging and unrestricted sound that is well extended in both directions, with extremely low noise and THD throughout the spectrum. It has a tightly controlled sound and is never sloppy, muddy, or boomy in any areas, and it has a lot more detail than any consumer-grade product I've touched, whether it was designed for music or not. It can handle a wide range of different formats and has phenomenal battery life, while still being able to power most headphones with ease. It handles aggressive music and instruments very well, especially guitar and other string instruments like it. 
 
The Pandora does exactly what it should do: Output clean, high quality sound without coloration or degradation. It's a wonderful device that does a lot of things very well, and I will continue using it for a very long time.
 
Is it worth $500? Definitely, but only if you will be using it to it's full potential. I would never recommend this product to someone who would only be using it as a portable DAP. It sounds good, its features are impressive, but it's not a device that's designed to do one task. It does anything and everything you want it to do, and it's a waste of money to use it for just one thing. If you're a person who likes retro gaming, audio, and customizing your system exactly how you want it, then this device is an absolute dream come true for you. I have never adored a unit as much as I adore this one.
Zaroff
Zaroff
I own this (1Ghz edition). I've never pushed the portable thing beyond good mid-fi, latest DAP I used were Cowon J3 & X9. The Pandora wipes the floor with them both -and Cowon are rather good. But they can't compare. The separation and detail level are far superior on the Pandora, bass is deeper AND better as well as treble extension, and the amp is _very_ powerful. Playing music through Rockbox on this is pure bliss. Highly recommended. I'm very curious how it would compare to the big boys -iBasso, Hisounds etc.
takato14
takato14
I echo your thoughts on the Pandora.
I just tried running a Genesis emulator on my phone (Note II) and my desktop, using them to play the RKA soundtrack, and was severely unimpressed. The Pandora just has so much more resolution. Its kind of incredible.
musikaladin
musikaladin
...great review, thanks!

takato14

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Excellent detail, massive soundstage, good instrument placement and separation, nearly perfect isolation, tank-like build quality
Cons: Fairly heavy, huge, clamp a lot, sometimes hurt ears
What is this? A random KOSS headphone from the '70s?
 
Don't run away just yet. These things are a diamond in the ruff. They put my K240 Studios and ATH-M50s to shame. I have never heard a vintage headphone sound this good.
 
The first thing I said when I put these on was "hoooooly crap soundstage". These things, despite being closed, have an absolutely massive soundstage. Instrument placement is precise and instrument separation is better than any headphone I have. As you feed them power, the soundstage gains size and clarity. The soundstage is wide and deep.
 
The detail retrieval on this set tops everything I've heard so far. I have heard entirely new parts in my songs with these things. They are a very fast headphone and have a good amount of micro-detail throughout the entire sound spectrum. It sounds like every instrument is rendered separately as opposed to all at once. It sounds less like a recording and more like a performance. The way these things render vocals is absolutely stunning; it sounds like someone is really singing.
 
The tonal balance on this headphone is neutral with a tilt towards the bassy side of things. They have bass that reaches very low. The midbass isn't emphasized, and the sub bass territory is louder than the rest. It makes the headphones have a huge thunderous low end without being muddy, bleedy, or sloppy. The mids are pretty smooth, though the upper mids are somewhat forward. They have a slightly veiled sound, but not too bad. They don't have good treble extension.
 
These things do an amazing job at attenuating outside noise. I was riding in the car with my dad during a thunderstorm. The rain was smacking against the windshield very loudly and I couldn't even tell. He had the radio on and we were going about 70, so the wheels were making a very loud roar. Nope, couldn't hear it. My dad leaned over to say something to me and I didn't hear a word of it. He had to wave his hand in front of me. When I took them off I was absolutely astounded at how much noise was around me. These isolate better than anything that has ever been in my ears or on my head. It's absolutely ridiculous.
 
As far as build quality goes, they are heavy and built like tanks. The yokes are stainless steel and the headband has a steel core. The Adjustments are free-motion as opposed to stepped, but surprisingly it still locks in whatever position you put it in. The headband itself is really tough plastic as are the earcups. The cable, surprisingly, is quite nice; it's not stiff at all and the coil works very well. The earpads are a hard-ish vinyl type material, which allows these to make a perfect seal on your head, hence the amazing isolation that this set has.
 
These headphones, surprisingly, sound good straight from an iPhone. Using my E7, they get better. Unfortunately I cannot test how they scale further because I do not have any other amps. When I get another amp, I'll report back here how they scale.
 
Oddly enough the comfort on these isn't very bad at all. They're quite comfortable most of the time. However, the pads are pretty shallow and the plastic baffle plate sometimes hurts my ears a bit if they aren't on the head straight. Most of the time it's fine and when it does happen it's easily remedied, so it's not a problem.* (See below)
 
Despite the amazing isolation and drive-ability of these headphones, I would not suggest these for portable use. They are heavy, and are absolutely massive. I look quite goofy wearing them. **They do clamp enough to stay on your head most of the time, but more active uses such as jogging cause instability.** (See bottom) Additionally, if you wear glasses (which I do) you won't be able to use both at the same time. With my glasses on, they don't seal against my head and they lose all of their bass, all of their isolation, and sound quite bad. Plus, the clamping force makes your glasses gouge into the sides of your face. Not too pleasant.
 
One thing I should note is that I have found absolutely no evidence of this headphone's existence, anywhere. The only pictures on google are either mine or are from the auction I bought these from. Additionally, KOSS doesn't have these on their site, anywhere. They don't even show up in their product registration list. I take this to mean that they were probably a very expensive TOTL headphone back in the 70's and due to low sales were quickly discontinued. If anyone else has this set or any information about it, I'd like to know.
 
This set has absolutely astounded me. I can't believe I got these for only $30. They have totally blown me away. If you see a pair of these, anywhere, grab them right away. You won't be disappointed.
 
*Another thing to add about the comfort: I put the foam discs from my K240s behind the pads to see what would happen, and it fixed the comfort problem. It also gave even more isolation to this thing. But most importantly, it took away the forwardness in the upper mids, which was quite literally the only thing about this headphone I didn't like. It does cause extra heat buildup, but that's good for me as it's winter where I live right now. These headphones originally did have foam on the inside, but mine has long since deteriorated. There are still chunks of foam stuck to the baffle plate with glue.
 
** I actually wore these when I walked down to the store, so I ran downhill and stomped my feet as hard as I could, and these didn't move an inch. I was quite surprised.
 
*** Last thing. As these headphones are quite revealing I've been noticing some clipping in the low end on certain songs. This isn't present on my friend's DT1350s, so it's the E7 clipping trying to drive these. They are NOT easy to drive.. However, given how they still sound great out of the E7, a more powerful amp will probably make this set sound unbelievable.
 
Updated 11/27/12
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Jharrison
Jharrison
I had a pair that my dad bought for me when they came out, had them for years, loved them, but they finally started to come apart at the headband and one side stopped working. I think I finally tossed them but now wish I hadn't. I didn't realize at the time that Koss offered the lifetime warranty.  I have been searching the web for a pair of these.....if anybody has a pair, I will buy them!
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tbritton
tbritton
These were my first headphone experience (They were not my headphones, but belonged to a friend.) I've not equaled it until very recently, with Shure SE846 IEM's out of a Shozy Alien Gold, which gave me the same amazing experience I had with these out of some Kenwood receiver back in the 70's. Totally encompassing and engaging - a music "like it is supposed to sound" sort of thing. Went looking for info on it and found your review - thanks for that! $30 - what a steal!!!! :)
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Mr Head P Hones
Mr Head P Hones
Hey guys just ran across a pair of these on eBay. Got them for $24. Can't wait to check them out
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takato14

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Awesome build quality, stylish, small, loud, great battery life, OLED display, dual headphone outputs
Cons: Poor EQ
The FiiO E7 is a wonderful device. 
 
It is a combo USB DAC and portable headphone amplifier unit. It has a 1-inch OLED display and a simple but good menu system. The screen is bright and vibrant, and looks very nice.
 
It has a high-end Wolfson DAC chip, and the audio sounds much cleaner than out of my laptop.
 
The amp has quite a bit of power behind it: 150mW/channel into 16 ohms. It drives my AKG K240 Studios very well without breaking a sweat. It even has the balls to drive my Pioneer SE-700s to listenable volumes with no distortion. That's extremely impressive; these headphones were designed to be driven from speaker taps.
 
The only thing about this product I can say is bad is the equalizer. It doesn't have bands, first off: It's only a bass boost. Second, even the 1st boost setting causes heavy distortion, making the whole thing entirely useless. Another thing that's less of a flaw and more of a nit-picky thing, is that you can't <just> charge the unit through a USB port on your computer. If it is plugged in, your computer will send all audio to it even if it is switched off. Not sure why FiiO did this, but they did.
 
Definitely go for this. FiiO is a great brand. I'm definitely considering some of their other products after this experience.
GL1TCH3D
GL1TCH3D
Umm... the reason it sends the audio to the unit is probably because you have it set as the default audio output on your computer.
takato14
takato14
Nope. Tried changing that and it still sends the audio to the E7.

takato14

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Very flat response, nice soundstage, excellent imaging, phenomenal detail retrieval, most gorgeous headphone ever
Cons: Lack of bass and treble extension, slightly uncomfortable, hard to drive
First off I adore this headphone. It's the most beautiful headphone I own and it's also the rarest. It has a lot of things about it that make it unique, and it deserves a place in everyone's collection. 
 
While it does not have a 'real' soundstage, it has the best imaging of any headphone I own. The sound is very directional, and seems to emanate from nowhere as opposed to two distinct places on your ears. They are very well-detailed and have fast attack. Decay could be better, but it's not bad. The fast attack and decay throughout the whole frequency range gives them an amazing sense of rhythm. They sound extremely lively and perky, and the whole sound is crisp and clear.
 
These headphones have a remarkably flat frequency response. No peaks, no recessions, just a totally level playing field. However, they don't have a lot of treble or bass extension. They do have bass and they do have treble, but the bass has a very steep roll-off and lacks weight and impact. This is a flaw of piezoelectric headphones; they are phyiscally incapable of reproducing bass below a certain point. The bass that is there is well textured and detailed. The treble doesn't have a lot of sparkle, but it extends much farther than the bass so I rarely notice where it rolls off. 
 
Despite the ridiculously neutral tone and the slight analyticality of these headphones, I can't put them down. I am a moderate basshead, but they are still my favorite headphone, and my best technically. My ears adjusted to them very rapidly and I absolutely fell in love with them. Their awesome sense of rhythm engages me in the music and makes me tap my feet in pleasure.
 
The build quality is also phenomenal. The backs of the earcups are brushed aluminum with stiff steel mesh, the struts/yokes are brushed steel (I think), and the headband is a spring-steel core with a leather sleeve. The adjustments make a satisfying click noise when you move them, and they stay put. The cable is cloth sheathed and very long. The vinyl on my earpads has worn out and flaked off, but hey, they're 42 years old.
 
They do have some downfalls other than the extension issue. They are totally open, so no isolation and massive leakage. They are very difficult to drive, you absolutely need an amp, and a good one at that. They are also moderately uncomfortable as the earpads are thin and they are supra-aural. My pair might be more comfortable than most, because it is my understanding that most units clamp a lot more than mine do... I think the previous owner of mine stretched out the headband because of the comfort issue. They also sound a bit thin at times due to the stifling lack of bass; these headphones do not work with all genres for that reason.
 
If you find a pair of these, I would advise you to grab them. Even if you don't like their sound, they are an utterly gorgeous display piece and are the first piezoelectric headphone ever made, making them an awesome piece of history.
 
Updated 11/24/12
SE700
SE700
I am an original owner of this headphone and pretty much agree with your assessment.  Obtained in 1974 after high school, they still sound amazing.  Originally driven through a headphone out (w/ vol control) on a Yamaha receiver until it went kaput.  The subsequent receiver's headphone out simply couldn't drive the SE700's-- a Technics… so, I put the them away until, years later, I acquired an Adcom GFA535 amp (60 watts/ch into 8 ohms).  After doing some research last summer, I discovered that all these 30+ years, the SE700's should be driven via the speaker outs using a Pioneer JB21 junction box.  I snagged one of those on eBay and hooked it up to the Adcom.  All I can say is  … wow… they sound even better than ever.  I did notice, however, that the JB21 box must have heated up pretty good recently as it deformed the plastic top of the unit.  In order to take full advantage of this headphone, you have to really drive them. The volume on the Adcom preamp is always at or a bit passed its center position (3x what it takes for the speakers).  
 
One note about comfort and the ear pads.  The original pads are, indeed, rather flat and tend to sit on the ears instead of cupping them. After extended listening you get that clamping feeling and they just have to come off.  Since mine were old and crappy I went on a vision quest for a replacement.  I finally found a very close fit on Amazon with the Shure HPAEC750 replacement ear cushions for the SRH750. Easily applied with ¼ inch double sided adhesive, these pads are perfection. They cup the ears nicely and relieve the pressure. No discomfort….ever.  So, proper ear pads should solve that clamping sensation. 
 
Very good review. Thanks for posting it!
 
Dave
astrostar59
astrostar59
Hey, my first headphones when I was only 18 and spent my entire summer breaks wages on them! Yeah, they are very nice. Yes, you need a good amp, preferably tubed. I only sold my set because I went the Stax route (second hand Lambda, the Lambda Nova Signature, then SR-007 Mk2s) I kinda miss those Pioneer phones. I got me into this hobby and I am still into it now all 35 years later...
sirwan
sirwan
I'm also owner of this headphone if you find the right earpads for it, only problem will be lack of bass and I think it has the best imaging headphones even better than my Focal Utopia headphones when you listen to Classical music and instrumental music

takato14

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Good SQ even when unamped, sturdy, nice aesthetics
Cons: Hard, unforgiving headband, Sub-par detachable cable
 
Prior listening experience: Audio Technica ATH-M50, AKG K240 Studio
 
My time with these headphones was limited, as I bought them for a friend who lives far away. 
 
Sound:
The overall sound signature isn't overly bassy or dark, but there is more bass than treble. Good imaging, sound feels like it emanates from nowhere as opposed to from two distinct spots over your ears. Soundstage is slightly better than most closed cans. Bass is really good and tight, though it rolls off a bit. Mids seem very slightly boomy. Very smooth treble. Isolates very well and little sound leakage.
 
Build:
Heavy and sturdy. Feels like a tank. Mostly ABS construction. Metal headband with a rubber sleeve and no padding. Matte copper-finished yokes. Free-motion, non stepped headband adjustment.Pivoting earcup design helps ensure proper fit. Detachable 10-foot cable.
 
Comfort:
Not very comfortable. Earpads are very soft and encompass your whole ear, and not overly heavy as to cause neck pain, but for a headphone this heavy to have an unpadded headband makes me wonder what Fostex was thinking. After about 20-ish minutes of listening the headband begins to feel like it's digging into the top of your head. It's very unpleasant and usually results in needing to remove the headphones.
 
Pros:
*Amazing build quality, very sturdy
*Isolates well
*Great sound quality out of an iPod, sounds many times better when properly amplified
*Sound quality rivals $600 headphones with proper modifications
*Stylish
 
Cons:
*Headband is hard and unforgiving, I expected comfort to be better for a headphone of this caliber
*The detachment method for the cable could be far better
*Sometimes hard to adjust
 
That sums up this review. At this price, there's no contest. Definitely go for these, Fostex doesn't disappoint!
takato14
takato14
How much did that cost, out of curiosity? Haven't heard of that mod myself.
silversurfer616
silversurfer616
140.- US.....a STEAL for what it is!
takato14
takato14
Where can you get them though? I cant find them anywhere..
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